Method of and means for use in making footwear



A ril 25,1933. A. F. BANCROFT 1,905,786

METHOD OF. AND MEANS FOR USE IN MAKING FOOTWEAR File y 7, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 25, 1933. A. F. BANCROFT 1,905,735

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR USE IN MAKING FOOTWEAR Filed May 7, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 with Patented A r; 25, 1933 res UNITED s'ra secure 7 METHOD cream MEANS FQR use IN MAKI G roorwEAa Application filed May 7, 1931. Serial no. 535,625.

This invention pertains to anovel method of making footwear and to means for use in the practice of such method. In accordance present day factory, methods of manufacturing shoes, it is necessary, in order to avoid excessive costs, to use the same last in making many styles of shoes, the desired re sults being obtained by varying the material, cut, color, ornamentation, etc. but'in sodoing it is found that shoes made on the same last Vary somewhat in volume, or in the degree of snugness with which they fit the foot, thisvariation being particularly noticeable at the forepart or instep portion of the shoe where undue tightness and a tendency to cut into the instep of the foot; often develops. The discrepancy between the expected and the actual size or fit ofthe finished shoe is traceable, in part at least, to the different degrees ofelastic recovery of the shoe uppers after lastingzor ability to stretch after completion, the tendency of'the upper to contract and recover its originalidimensions after lasting, aswell as its ability to conform tothe foot during wear, usually being proportionate to the degree of force necessaryto shape the upper to the surface of the last during the lasting operation. Thus when the upper resists stretchs .ing and requires a great deal of force to pull it down snugly against the last, particularly at the forepart, the completed shoe, after Ie-f moval of the last, maybe or appear to beycon siderably less in volume than it should be,'; :whereas when an upper, for onereason or another, requires lesslasting stress,the -completed shoe'may fit the foot with all desired comfort. 7' 7; a

Since it requires greater {force to conform the upper to the forepartofthe last than at 7 other parts, the above effect, as stated, is most noticeable at the throat or instep portion of the shoe, and although not of great importance in some styles of shoe, (for example bluchers,) it is a matter of real concern in' making other styles, for example womens pumps or straps, since in such shoes the throat or instep portion exhibits a natural tendency to cut into the instep of the foot. g 7

To insure a proper fit at theforepart of the shoe, manufacturers of the best grades of Thus the the shoe manufactu'r shoeresort toithepractice'known as increas ingtheir lasts whereby to insure the desired volume or fit at the throat or instep. Vase rious modes of increasing the last have been. proposed, such for example, as tackinga pad" upon the spring or cone of the last, soathat, during the lasting operation the last will-have an abnormally'large cross-sectional, areaat-f this point. It has also been video added fullness in the springof the lastitself, but neither of these prior proposals is practical from the standpoint of theshoe manufacturer, for although increase is neces 1 sary for comfort and to provide a good fit, iti 65 is 111 most cases very slight and may vary by. minute amountsin shoes of different styles. For example, a shoe of a given size, shape' and material may need little, if any, increase provided, as aboveznoted, that the material'is capable of stretching readily during thelasting operation, and to adapt itself to the shapeof the foot during use, While on the other hand, the same shoe but with the mere addition of an ornamental band of leather, orother material around its upper, may require'a sub-. stantial amount of increase. Different materials used in the same sizeor pattern necessitate different increases, while the provision;

of cut-outs in the upper, different styles of throat opening, or a; d-ifferent;degree oflow, cutting at the shank all: affect the increases proposal to use, lasts integrally moulded to provide the requisiteincrease is not practical, at least in the manufacture of high grade. shoes, while the suggestion. that the last be furnished with interchangeable increaser pads tacked or otherwise secured in.-, place is not adapted to modern conditions; since, .in the firstplace, the; greatest care would be "necessary in securing each' 'padto the last in order to get the accurate results demanded, and seconchthe removal of the; pads for; replacement by others is troublesome, time consuming andexpensive.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide -a novel mode of and means for: se; curing the desired effect, but which enables erto use normal lasts without modificatiorn, regardless t-vof jitheq amount of increase desired, and which per- ALBERTF. BANCROET, or wnsr nnwronmassaonusnrrs, ASSIGNOR TO BANcR oFT-ff proposed to pron i;

mits him to attain the desired increase under all conditions with the greatest accuracy and through a long range of gradations at a substantially insignificant cost and without injury to the last or the requirement of substantial departure. from any of the methods of shoe manufacture.

To this end, I provide increaser pads or tabs of a very simple construction, but in a wide range of sizes, which may be secured to the assembled upper with the greatest ease and accuracy before lasting and which bear upon the spring, or cone and sometimes the forepart of the last during lasting so as to secure the desired degree of increase. These tabs or pads remain in place until after the last is pulled, whereupon they are readily disengaged from the upper-without injury to the latter,the only departure from the usual shoe manufacturing process consisting in these simple operations ofattaching and removing the tabs. These tabs may be made of any desired material, for example, hard fiber board, cardboard, leather, rubber, or the like; they are easily attached to the upper material by fasteners such as staples, and are preferably provided with indicia to indicate the style of shoe to which they apply and their position with respect to a fixed datum line or point of the upper. As thus constructed it requires but little skill, intelligence or expense to apply these tabs so as to obtain the accurate results desired.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have illustrated certain steps in my improved method as well as devices useful in the practice of said method:

Fig. 1 is a composite view, to large scale, showingin front and edge elevation an increaser pad or tab of a preferred type constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 3 is a plan view of an assembled unlasted shoe upper showing the increaser tab of the present invention applied thereto;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the inner side of the upper;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a tab similar to that of Fig. 1 but of different dimensions;

Fig. 6'is a front elevation of a pad of somewhat different shape, intended for special uses;

Fig. 7 is a composite View showing several forms of pad in transverse section;

Fig. 8 is a similar section showing a further' modified construction;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section through a last of normal shape;

Figs. 10 and 11 are transverse sections on the lines 10l0 and 11- 11 respectively of Fig. 9;

Fig 12 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through a last, showing a portion of the upper applied thereto and with an increaser pad interposed between the upper and last;

Fig. 13 is a section substantially on the line 1313 of Fig. 12; and

Fig. la is a diagrammatic section through a last, with a shoe upper mounted thereon and illustrating the theoretical effect of the use of an increaser pad.

In accordance with the present invention I provide an increaser pad or tab 1, which, instead of being secured to the last, is removably attached to the shoe upper itself. This has many advantages, among the more important being that as thus attached, the pad performs its function regardless of slight relative changes in the position of the last and upper during the lasting operation; the upper presents fixed and readily recognized datum points or lines to guide the operator in attaching the tab; the tab may be made of any suitable material, shape and size; the attaching means may be of the simplest type;

and the tab may be secured to the upper and removed therefrom very rapidly and without substantial increase in the cost of manufacture. I

Referring to Fig. l, the improved tab is shown as consisting of a piece of sheet material, for example, fiber board, cardboard, or the like which may be cut to the desired shape by means of a die or otherwise, and which is of a character such that it may readily be secured to the upper, for example by means of a readily removable staple or other fastener. While a great variety of materials are useful for the purpose, it is requisite that the material selected shall be sufliciently rigid to withstand the strain imposed by the upper during the lasting process. One convenient form of tab consists of an elongated piece of the selected material, preferably having its lateral edges 2 and 3 (Fig. 2) beveled and also having one of its ends 4 beveled, such beveling avoiding injury to the upper during lasting. One face or edge of the tab is preferably furnished with indicia for indicating its proper location with respect to the shoe upper, for example, one or more spaced notches 5, and in order to designate the style of shoe for which the particular tab is intended, thetab may be provided with other indicia, for example, notches 6 at its upper end. This tab may be substantially flat, or if desired, it may be of curved contour as shown at 7 in Fig. 8 so as more easily to conform to the surface of the last.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4 which illustrate an unlasted shoe upper comprising the usual outer member 8, of leather or the like, the lining 8 and other constituent parts secured together in the usual manner by stitching, the seam along the upper edge of the forepart of the upper is indicated at 9 and this seam forms a convenient datum point or line for the location of the increaser tab. Thus the operator may place this tab as shown in Fig. 4: with its beveled face against the lining and with a selected notch 5 in registry with the line of stitches 9. The upper portion of the tab is then attached, preferably by means of a single staple 10, or by stitching if preferred. Men as is common in low-cut shoes, a waste portion of the lining is left projecting above the forepart of the shoe during lasting, the increaser tab is preferably secured to the waste lining material. The upper is now placed upon the last 11 and the shoe lasted in usual fashion, the lower portion of the increaser tab operating as shown in Figs. 12 and 13 to prevent the adjacent portion of the upper from contacting with the surface of the last itself, thereby increasing the cross sectional area or volume of the upper over what it would be if pulled directly over the last. By using an elongate tab having a series of notches 5 or other suitable indicia, the amount of increase may readily be varied merely by attaching the tab so that more or less of it is disposed within the upper. Further variations may be provided by making tabs of different thicknesses, widths, or shapes, so that an almost infinite number of gradations in the amount of increase may be secured. After the shoe has been lasted and the last has been removed, the tab can readily be pulled out of the shoe upper, since the staple offers little resistance, or if as suggested, the tab has been attached to a waste portion of the lining left projecting above the edge of the upper to be trimmed out after lasting, the tab is now removed in the trimming operation with the waste lining material. Obviously, if the shoe be of a type having transverse attaching straps, flaps, or other parts extending across the throat opening or forming a closure for the front of the shoe, the increaser pad may be attached to any of such parts, and in such position as to obtain the increase at any desired point.

After lasting, the last is withdrawn from the shoe, and if the shoe be made according to some methods, at least, the upper then contracts to some extent, so that while the use of the increaser ought theoretically to produce a fullness at the instep as shown at 12 (Fig. 14) as compared with the normal last,such fullness, which is present during lasting, disappears after lasting, leaving the shoe of exactly the proper cross sectional area at the instep, providing the increase has been properly calculated and provided for as described.

In Fig. 5, a tab 13 is illustrated, which is of considerable length and which thus may provide for a large variation in increase.

In Fig. 6 another form of pad is illustrated, consisting of the transverse portion 14: and the elongate vertical portion 15, the latter being provided with the notches 5. The transverse portion 14 is adapted to be secured by means of two spaced staples 16 or other fasteners toa shoe in which, by reason of the shape of the upper, there is no proper an? chorage for a tab of theshapeshowninFigs,

1 and5. Other special forms of; tab may obviously be made quirements of. any particular case.

in accordance with the rev In Fig.7, tabs 17 ,18 and-19 are illustrated as cons sting of materials-of different thick.

nesses, the tab 17 being ofthin material, but

having tsedges unbeveled, the tab 18 being of thicker material and having curved, edges, and the tab 19being of still thicker material andhavingits-edges beveled.

.Asalreadynotedathe notches 6 at thetop of thetab may indicate the style of shoe in which the particular type is to be used,-while, the notches 5 serve to locate the tab with reference to a fixed datum line of the shoe ups datum, line. of. the upper.

lot may call for tab.

its notch 3 opposite the While I have hereinabovedescribedcertain desirable steps in the practice of my method,

I wish it to be understood that the invention-- is not to be limited to the precise orderof stepsdescribed and further that in some cases. 9595' some of these steps may be omitted or. others;

subtituted therefor without departing, from the invention. I further contemplate that increaser tabs of, other shapes, sizes or'materials may beempl'oyed and, that such; tabs maybe secured to theupper in any desiredand convenient way withinthe scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An increaser element for use in making shoes comprising a piece of index means for selectively determining its material having.

location when applied to ashoe uppenwhere by any desired, increase in the cross-sectional dimension of the throat portio-n of :theshoe upper .may be attained. f

2. An increaser element for use in making shoes comprising an elongate substantially rectangular piece of material of predetermined width and thickness having its lateral edges and one end beveled, said element having indicia for selectively determining its position when applied to a shoe upper, whereby anydesired increase in the cross-sectional dimension of the throat portion of the shoe upper may be attained.

3. An increaser element for use in making shoes comprising a part adapted to lie be tween the spring of a last and a shoe upper during a lasting operation, said part having designating means for selectively determining its location with respect to a predetermined part ofthe upper and having a portion designed to receive attaching means for securing it to the shoe upper, whereby any desired increase in the cross-sectional dimension of the throat portion of the shoe upper may be attained.

4. An increaser element for use in making shoes comprising an elongate part adapted to lie between the spring of a last and a shoe upper during the lasting operation, said part having a plurality of spaced notches for selectively determining its location with reference to a predetermined datum line of a shoe upper.

5. An increaser member for use with a shoe upper ready for lasting and having a fixed datumelement, said increaser member havingpositioning indicia for selectively determining its location with reference to said datum element, and means for securing the increaser member at the inner side of the upper with a predetermined one of its spaced indicia registering with the datum element of the upper. I

6. An increaser member for use with a shoe upper ready for lasting and having a fixed datum line, said increaser member having a plurality of spaced notches for selectively determining its location relative to said datum line, and means for securing the in- V creaser member at the inner side of the upper with a predetermined one of its spaced notches registering with the datum line of the u per.

7. En increaser member for use with ashoe upper ready for lasting and comprising waste lining material projecting at the fore part of the upper, said increaser member comprising a piece of sheet material having index means whereby the desired increase in the crosssectional dimension of the throat portion of the shoe upper may be attained, and means for securing said increaser member to said waste lining material.

Signed by me at Boston, Mass, this fourth day of May 1931.

ALBERT F; BANCROFT.

for selectively determining its 7 location when applied to the shoe upper 

